User:Astral highway/Chemetco

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[edit] Chemetco

CHEMETCO

Background

The company was established on June 9, 1969 as an Illinois corporation, Chemico Metals corporation. On 23 March 1970, it became a Delaware corporation.

In 1973, the company changed its name to Chemetco. By 1980, it employed around 200 staff.

Prosecution and conviction

On November 13, 2001, the company filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy, following conviction by a US federal court and a fine of $3.86 million for conspiracy to violate the clean water act.

On 18th September 1986, an enforcement officer for the Illinois Environmental Proection Agency (EPA) had discovered a hidden pipe, discharging toxic waste into a tributary of the Mississippi.

Investigations showed that the pipe had been active for ten years. A large area of wetland was contaminated with zinc oxide and heavy metals at several times the threshold for a public health hazard.

The site was sealed and remediation began.

Chemetco hampered the investigation of its illegal activity by making materially false statements. (See United States vs Chemetco, Criminal No. 99-300480WDS, 'Government's Report In Compliance with Court order of July 1, 1999': 8)

Production

Chemetco had been a major producer of high-purity copper derived from secondary sources – recycled and residual materials.

The smelter had three 70-ton, gas-fired furnaces, each with a capacity of 40,000 tonnes of refined copper per annum.

Raw material for the furnaces was collected in practically every state of the United States - as well as Canada - and shipped to Hartford.

Copper anodes (98% purity) emerged from the furnace as an intermediate product. For a number of years, they were electrolysed by Chemetco to produce a higher-purity copper cathode (99.98% purity.)

However, the company later discontinued electrolysis of its own copper and sold copper anodes, each weighing 740 lbs, to other producers.

Refining process

• Copper-bearing material was smelted to produce black copper, containing impurities such as lead, tin and zinc

• Black copper was refined using blown oxygen, along with a zinc oxide residue and a slag containing lead, tin, nickel and a number of heavy metals

• What Chemetco described as ‘zinc oxide’ was extracted from furnace flue gases using a scrubber system. The zinc oxide, along with the slag, became a waste product. The term ‘zinc oxide’ was something of a misnomer, as lead, cadmium and other elements were also present.

--Astral highway 18:19, 7 November 2006 (UTC)